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A Duel of Giants
- Bismarck, Napoleon III, and the Origins of the Franco-Prussian War
- Narrated by: Jim D. Johnston
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Categories: History, Europe
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In 1832, 17-year-old Otto von Bismarck had just entered university and was already rejecting the republican indoctrination of his grade school years. Unlike so many of his day who had championed representative government, Bismarck longed for the glory of a nation he believed would only be found under a single, strong leader. Though his early university days showed him he would be isolated by this thinking, he strongly believed not only in the ideal of a national German state, but in its possibility.
Publisher's Summary
Combining impeccable scholarship and literary elegance, David Wetzel depicts the drama of machinations and passions that exploded in a war that forever changed the face of European history.
Critic Reviews
What listeners say about A Duel of Giants
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Keaton
- 05-15-18
Ends before the war begins!
This book is ONLY the background and lead up to the war. There is zero information on the relative strengths of the armies, the commanders, or any of the actual maneuvers. The title is deceptive, the book ends with the outbreak and does not cover the war itself. Not worth the read.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Diggidy Dog 99
- 08-05-17
Good book, Baaaaad narration
I am very interested the Franco-Prussian war and I was very excited about listening to this audio book. However, the narrator's constant whistling while he is talking drove me crazy. I had to return the book after listening for about 10 minutes. I don't know if this book was recorded in a closet somewhere or if the audio engineer is incompetent, but that audio book is terrible.
6 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 05-19-20
Dense
The book is very dense, and NOT a casual history for the layman. Filled to the brim with names and dates, so if that's not your thing I'd get something else. It's very detailed and well researched so if you know the period well it should be a good book to fill in your knowledge.
The reader is good. He sorta reads in stanzas which almost sounds monotone at times, but it's not bad.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- S. Moorcroft
- 10-31-17
AJP Taylor Lives
This is history in the Alan Taylor style, big characters making key decisions, with a strong strand of Taylor revisionism, even down to Taylor's sympathetic treatment of Bismark. History as cock-up rather than conspiracy or grand strategy. Entertaing if a little frivolous at times. A good listen.
2 people found this helpful